The UAE is a strategic partner of the US on the AI front, according to HE Omar Sultan Al Olama, UAE Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Remote Work Applications.
“The UAE is a company that is not looking at its legacy,” the Minister stressed during a session at GITEX 2024. “We’re not looking at what we have worked on in the past. We really are looking towards the future in a very optimistic and very positive way. We believe that we can actually be a global leader.”
The Minister highlighted the partnership between the UAE and the US, exemplified in Semtember’s official visit of President HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to the US, which aimed to strengthening bridges of partnership, promoting dialogue, and building effective and balanced relations between the two nations. Microsoft’s $1 billion investment in the UAE’s G42, as well as its partnership with the Abu Dhabi’s MGX and BlackRock to create a $30 billion fund to invest in data centres, are key examples of collaboration between the two nations.
“The fact that Microsoft was allowed to make that investment by the US government shows that G42 is a partner that Microsoft can use,” the Minister stressed. He discussed the two countries’ affinities in terms of looking to expand businesses in Africa, India and Central Asia. “For American companies that want to expand the product to these markets, partnering with a company like G42, partnering with a country like the UAE, is the ideal way to ensure that you’re able to really increase the US presence in these markets.”
The UAE as an AI pioneer
Although most people would assume the UAE’s AI journey started in 2017, with the appointment of the Minister of AI, Al Olama stressed how the country had been investing in the technology since the early 2000s and 2010s, with the investment in Global Foundries. During his Q&A session at GITEX, the minister even reflected on an occassion that he was stopped at US immigration shortly after being appointed to his role, due to officials thinking he was a “preacher of AI”.
In order to successfully develop AI, the Minister said, a country needs both computing capability and skilled talent. The UAE’s leadership in both aspects, therefore, provide the nation with a key competitive advantage.
“We have probably the most international demographic in terms of our population in the world,” the Minister said. “This gives us the most diverse data set when it comes to artificial intelligence, that will allow all companies that come here to be able to export their models to the rest of the world.”
Looking towards the future, the Minister stressed the importance of regulations. Describing the country as new, he highlighted the UAE’s drive towards providing clarity on the use of AI, while also ensuring the rules are compatible with the expectations of people with various nationalities.
“The next phase of our development is purely dependent on our ability to move on regulating AI, on deploying AI effectively, and are really showing the economic gain that this technology can bring to play, but also improving quality of life,” he said. “Our regulations need to match the speed and the agility of the technology.”
